Indian billionaire races to Santander's rescue with 50 million-euro pledge

The new owner of struggling First Division side Racing Santander, Indian tycoon Ahsan Ali Syed, has begun to pay off the 13 million euros in debts the club holds with the Spanish Treasury.

Syed "has faced up to Racing's debts with the Treasury and paid off the urgent part of the debt to avoid a seizure of the club," said the finance minister of the Cantabria region, Ángel Agudo.

He said Syed had paid around 2 million euros, and has agreed with the Treasury on a schedule of payments to cover the rest of the debt. "The government of Cantabria would like to say that Mr Ali is meeting his commitments," Agudo told a news conference last week, accompanied by Syed.

He said the Indian billionaire "has resolved a situation that had left Racing very compromised."

A study by the University of Barcelona last year showed Racing had total debts of almost 140 million euros. Syed, the founder of Bahrain-based asset manager Western Gulf Advisory, has bought a modest club from a small city better known for its bank than its soccer team. The side has never won a domestic or European trophy. Its Sardinero stadium holds just over 22,000 people but average attendance is around 15,000.

To get permission to buy the club, Syed had to get the blessing of the Cantabrian government, which asked for guarantees that the side's debts will be paid and that the club will be kept in La Liga. Racing has spent most of the season hovering a few places above the relegation zone. Last season the club nearly went down, but a win on the last day of the season over neighbors Sporting Gijón kept them in the top flight of Spanish soccer.

Santander has a population of fewer than 200,000. However, racing is the only team in Cantabria, a region with close to 600,000 people. On the other hand, as Villarreal - the team that yesterday tied 2-2 at the Sardinero - has shown, coming from a big city is not a prerequisite for being successful. Syed failed in an attempt to buy English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers last year.

"I look forward to an active and long-term commitment to this great club and will invest all my knowledge and financial strength to elevate the club to the highest level of success in Spain and Europe," Syed said in a statement, in which he promised investment of 50 million euros in the team over the next few seasons.

Syed's foray into Spain follows the purchase of Racing's La Liga rival Málaga by a member of the Qatari royal family at the end of last season.

A Mexican businessman is also trying to buy Real Oviedo, a former first-division club that has dropped to the third tier, Spanish media have reported.

Racing has a famous fan in Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros and has come under foreign control before. Ukrainian-born businessman Dmitry Piterman bought into the club and was president between 2003 and 2004. Piterman moved to Alavés and hit the headlines when he clashed with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) over his attempts at coaching the team himself, despite not having the correct permit.